20-party calls hartal for Thursday

20-party calls hartal for Thursday

The car of BNP chairperson's adviser Reaz Rahman in flames near Westin Hotel in the city's Gulshan area after gunmen attacked him Tuesday night. Photo: Collected

Reaz Rahman

BNP-led 20-party called countrywide daylong hartal for Thursday protesting attack on Khaleda Zia’s adviser Reaz Rahman.
BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi in a statement declared the hartal hours into the attack which left Reaz Rahman injured in Gulshan of Dhaka.
The BNP Chairperson's adviser Reaz Rahman was shot in his car by unidentified people who also torched the vehicle at the capital's Gulshan-2 on Tuesday night.
Two bullets hit Reaz, 74, in the left leg and two in the back, said Fauwad Shuvo, a doctor at United Hospital where he was being treated.
The injuries are not life threatening, said his daughter Amina Rahman, quoting doctors.
The action movie-style attack happened around 8:40pm and it took no more than three minutes, witnesses said, adding that eight attackers on three bikes then fled the scene.
All the eight were wearing helmets.
Deputy Commissioner (Gulshan Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Lutful Kabir confirmed the shooting incident to The Daily Star. But he would not elaborate.
The motive behind the attack remains unclear.
A former foreign secretary, Reaz was passing through lane no-46, just opposite the Hotel Westin.
He was on his Baridhara residence after meeting Khaleda at her Gulshan office, where he came around 7:10pm.
When he entered the narrow lane after coming out of Khaleda's office around 8:30pm, the attackers followed him and then waylaid him with their bikes.
The attackers first asked him to come out of the car. But before he could come out, they broke the windshields with hammers and started shooting him simultaneously. Before fleeing, they firebombed the car, said Titu Das, an electrician of a nearby building.
The BNP leader then got down from the car and crawled to a nearby building for shelter.
On information, police later took him to the hospital.
BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan demanded an immediate investigation to find out the culprits.